Manuel Xavier Rodríguez Erdoíza (February 27, 1785 - May 26, 1818) was a Chilean lawyer and guerrilla leader, considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Rodríguez was of Basque descent.

On 18 September 1810, in the absence of the Spanish monarch, a national government (primera junta nacional de gobierno) was formed from which sprung the struggle for Chilean Independence.

In May 1811, he was named attorney for Santiago de Chile. His attitude towards the independence cause was moderate up until the arrival from Spain of his old friend José Miguel Carrera, a passionate revolutionary. the friendship between Rodríguez and Carrera (who by this time had seized control of the Chilean government) had begun to cool. Rodríguez and his brothers were detained and charged for conspiracy against Carrera. They were condemned to one year's exile on Juan Fernández island; however, Rodríguez was able to procure a document that impeded the completion of this sentence.

The government junta presided by Carrera was replaced by a new one led by Colonel Francisco de la Lastra, which Rodríguez criticized profusely in the newspaper Monitor Araucano. When the Carrera brothers were removed from command, José Miguel was concealed by Rodríguez. After recovering control of the government, Carrera formed a new junta in which Rodríguez was made Secretary. However, Spanish forces led by General Mariano Osorio advanced from the south towards Santiago. After the Disaster of Rancagua, the Spanish took back control of Chile and Rodríguez, along with many other patriots, fled to Mendoza, Argentina.

José de San Martín, Governor of Cuyo, welcomed the Chilean exiles with open arms and organized a "Liberation Army" with Chileans and Argentinians included. He saw in Rodríguez the ideal spy since he was very shrewd and skilled for this position, and furthermore, his humble origins allowed him to easily pass for a commoner. He began creating disguises and communications systems—often carrying out his duties disguised as a monk, farmer, street merchant, domestic servant or even as a woman.

He was the most-wanted man during the rule of the Spanish Governor of Chile, Casimiro Marcó del Pont. His assaults on Melipilla and San Fernando were an important part of San Martín's strategy to divert attention away from the "Liberating Army" that entered Chile and triumphed at the Battle of Chacabuco.a

After the victory the Chilean commander Bernardo O'Higgins ordered the arrest of Rodríguez who managed to escape capture and was hidden until San Martín was able to intervene on his behalf and conferred on him the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the surprise attack by the Spanish forces at the Second Battle of Cancha Rayada, Rodríguez was instrumental in maintaining calm in Santiago amid false rumors of the death of O'Higgins. It was during this event that he uttered his most famous quote: "Aún tenemos patria, ciudadanos" (We still have a fatherland, citizens).

After the events at Cancha Rayada, Rodríguez and other Carrera supporters organised a regiment called the Húsares de la Muerte (Batallion of death). The characteristic symbol of this organisation was a white skull over a black background, symbolising their will to die in battle rather than allowing the enemy to win. However, this regiment was not considered for the battle of Maipú and was latter dissolved by Bernardo O'Higgins (he and San Martín both opposed the Carrera brothers).Assassination

Rodríguez was killed on 26 May 1818 in Til-Til by soldiers of the "Cazadores de los Andes" battalion commanded by Antonio Navarro, after being imprisoned by order of O'Higgins. His execution was extrajudicial, and it is widely attributed to the head of the government. His body was mutilated and abandoned in a trench, but a group of local peasants found it and recognized Rodríguez, burying him secretly under the La Merced's Chapel's altar in Til-Til with the help of the local priest. This was a sample of the affection the people had for Manuel Rodríguez, as well as the fear and contempt for the government of O'Higgins.

By the end of the 20th century, Rodríguez's body was moved to the General Cemetery of Santiago. It is believed today, however (after some research not yet finished), that the moved remains were not really Rodríguez's, but those of an older unknown soldier wearing the Husares de la Muerte uniform (although at the time of his assassination, Rodríguez was not wearing his legendary uniform), and that Rodríguez's body might still be buried in Til-Til's La Merced's Chapel.

Have you seen the new movie For Greater Glory? It's about the Cristero War in Mexico. It's on DVD now. Some of those characters would be awesome to draw.

The Cristero War (1926-29) also known as La Cristiada, was a mass popular uprising and attempted counter-revolution against the anti-Catholicism of the ruling Mexican government. Based in western Mexico, the rebellion was set off by the enforcement of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 by former Mexican President and atheist Plutarco Elias Calles, in order to persecute the Roman Catholic Church and its sub-organizations - a move inspired by Calles' atheism and freemasonry.